Ken B,
Your type is the most perplexing type of creature one encounters on these forums.
You seem to be all to ready to rip into those who actually are on the front line when it comes to delivering revenue to a company , and are integral to delivering those revenues (note I did not say profits).
Yet remain silent on executive remuneration.
Having been involved in a management position in business it became obvious that whilst the wages bill was a large and vitally important part of costs, that decisions taken by management were an even more expensive proposition.
If EVERY decision made by the management of Qantas added to the bottom line you couldn't begrudge the remuneration. Whoever worked out the fuel hedging position of the last 12-18 months deserves whatever they got. But what about those who picked the routes, planned the fleet, worked out the seat configuration,orchestrated the industrial plans,promoted the Allco bid, etc etc.
All those decisions have impacted negatively on the bottom line, yet you don't question whether these individuals are worth the millions they are pulling out of the bottom line because the airline in-toto delivered a billion dollar result.
What would it have been if the management had actually made every decision correctly?
Okay, nobody could have picked everything correctly without a crystal ball. But why do the management continue to recompense themselves as though they had?